Memoirs of a Geisha
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This is the soundtrack (or rather score) to the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. It came out in 2005, and was composed by John Williams. (And because he composed it, I'm not going to consider it a world music album, despite the music being classical Japanese.) I think I first got the CD in 2009 (probably as an anonymous gift, IIRC), but I'm writing my review in 2024. I don't remember the movie that well and wouldn't be able to match the tracks with the scenes, to say how well the music fits each specific scene, but I think it's safe to assume the music all fits the themes of the movie pretty well, overall. And I love all of it.

1. "Sayuri's Theme": This is a short track, which sounds rather wistful or even melancholy, to me.

2. "The Journey to the Hanamachi": This one sounds kind of scary, to me, before turning sort of sad, a couple of minutes in. It might get a bit hopeful, I'm not really sure.

3. "Going to School": This one sounds more playful, to me.

4. "Brush on Silk": Well, this sounds... spirited...

5. "Chiyo's Prayer": And this sounds... prayerful, I guess?

6. "Becoming a Geisha": I'd say this sounds sort of transitional, or transformative. A bit epic in some parts, even.

7. "Finding Satsu": This sort of bounces from sad, to scary, to sad again. Even tragic. And scary again, at the end.

8. "The Chairman's Waltz": I'm not sure how much this sounds like a waltz, but I think it sounds melancholy or somber, almost macabre. And maybe the least strictly "Japanese"-sounding track, like sort of a mix of east and west. (Though I could probably say that last bit about several songs on the album.)

9. "The Rooftops of the Hanamachi": This starts off sounding sort of... surreptitious, maybe, as if someone's planning a secret escape. It's got a certain sense of danger to it, but also a touch of magic.

10. "The Garden Meeting": I have no idea what to say about this one.

11. "Dr. Crab's Prize": I don't know quite how to explain it, but this one sounds sort of unfortunate, to me, like something's happening that shouldn't be.

12. "Destiny's Path": This... uh... I might say it's another track that sounds sort of transitional to me. I could imagine it being used for a montage of life changing over the course of years. Or something.

13. "A New Name... a New Life": Maybe there's even more change going on in this track, or maybe I just think that because of its name. I'm not sure what else to say. There might be a sense of hopefulness to it. Or maybe it's resignation. I really can't tell if the music symbolizes something good or bad, or somewhere in between.

14. "The Fire Scene and the Coming of War": This is the longest track on the album, and you can definitely feel the war coming. There's a sense of danger and foreboding. A couple of minutes in there are some vocals, which surprised me a bit because I wasn't expecting anything but instrumental music on the album. (If there were any vocals before this, I didn't notice, but I really don't think there were.) Anyway, the vocals only last a minute or so, but they sound sad and/or scared. Eventually the music started giving me a bit of a "Star Wars" vibe, but maybe that's just me. But the whole thing is dark and unnerving, as it should be.

15. "As the Water...": I'd say this starts out sort of slow and unassuming. Steady, like the flow of a gentle stream. (There I go again, being influenced by the title.) And it doesn't get much more active than it starts out.

16. "Confluence": At first I didn't know what to say about this at all, but after a little while it takes an upswing, becomes more... aspirational, I guess.

17. "A Dream Discarded": I really tried to hear sadness or melancholy in this, because of the title. I guess that's kind of there, but mostly it feels more like regretful resignation.

18. "Sayuri's Theme and End Credits": And already I've forgotten just what the first track on the album sounded like. So I can't really compare it to this one, despite the similar title. But this is a few minutes longer, actually the second longest track, and it sounds more "end credits"-y to me. (I feel like I might have gotten that even without the title.) Oh, and then a couple minutes in, I get a bit of a "Superman" vibe. Not sure where that came from. But that only lasts a minute or so. The track ends on a high note. And overall, I'd say this piece is a nice encapsulation of the movie (or of the soundtrack as a whole).

It occurred to me while listening to the CD and writing my review that it might be interesting to re-watch the movie while reading my review of the soundtrack, and see if any of what I said about the various tracks fit the moods of the scenes they're in. I probably won't ever do that, but it's a thought, anyway. Well, I don't know what else to tell you, it's just some really good music.